Jan. 30, 1890] 



NATURE 



299 



mostly to the west of Taveta, amongst the numerous 

 streams that drain the southern slopes of Kilimanjaro 

 and unite to form the Ruvu River, which enters the sea at 

 Pangani, and to the east of the great mountain on the 

 head waters of the Tzavo. These various hunting ex- 

 peditions occupied the time until April 21, when a safe 

 return was effected to Mombas, and thence to Europe. 



The list of larger game-animals killed by the party 

 during their four months shows a goodly total of 330 head, 

 although we are assured by Sir John Willoughby that no 

 useless slaughter was perpetrated during the expedition, 

 and that no animal was killed unless required for a speci- 

 men, or for food by the hunters and their native companions. 

 In the list of these 330 animals, we find 21 Buffaloes, 66 

 Rhinoceroses, 2 Elephants, 4 Hippopotamuses, 4 Zebras, 

 and 211 Antelopes of different species. But a much more 



attractive list 

 to the natural- 

 ist will be found 

 in the appen- 

 dix " on the 

 fauna of the 

 plains round 

 Kilimanjaro," 

 compiled by 

 Mr, Hunter. 

 So little is yet 

 known of the 

 larger mam- 

 mals of this 

 fine country, 

 except from 

 fragmentary 

 notices, that 

 Mr. Hunter's 

 notes, brief as 

 they are, form 

 a not unim- 

 portant contri- 

 bution to zoo- 

 logical science. 

 Lions, Ele- 

 phants, Hip- 

 popotamuses, 

 and Giraffes 

 are prevalent 

 alike in every 

 part of Wild 

 Africa, but the 

 splendid Bo- 

 vine animals 

 called Ante- 

 lopes vary very 

 materially in 

 the different 

 districts. In 

 the Kilimanja- 

 ro country, sixteen Antelopes are recorded as having been 

 met with, and amongst them are some of the finest and 

 largest of the whole group. The Eland {Oreas cannd) is 

 " rather local," but there " are a fair number to the south 

 of the mountain." The Eland found here belongs to the 

 variety called Livingstone's Eland, first met with by that 

 great explorer on the Zambesi. " Both males and females 

 are all more or less striped." The Larger Kudu {Strepsi- 

 ceros kudu) was " only seen on two or three occasions on 

 the Useri River" ; the Lesser Kudu {S.imberbis) is found 

 " in the bush around Taveta," and in several other loca- 

 lities. Two examples of this until lately little-known 

 Antelope from this district are now living in the Zoo- 

 logical Society's Gardens. The Beisa {Oryx beisa) is 

 " plentiful on the plains and in thin thorny bush " ; the 

 Coke's Hartebeest {Alcelaphus cokii) is " quite the most 

 common Antelope on the plains, being found every- 



FiG. I.— Head of Grant's Gazelle. 



where in immense herds " ; while the Brindled Gnu 

 {Co7tnochcetes gnu), the Mpallah {/Epyceros melampus), 

 and the Waterbuck {Cobus elUpsiprymnus) are, accord- 

 ing to Mr. Hunter, abundant in appropriate localities. 

 We suspect, however, that Mr. Hunter's so-called "Water- 

 buck " is the Sing-sing ( Cobus sing-sing), of which some 

 fine heads were procured by Mr. Holmwood, lately 

 H.B.M. Consul at Zanzibar, during an excursion to the 

 Tavita district. Of the beautiful tribe of Gazelles, three 

 well-marked species, all recently discovered and appro- 

 priately named after distinguished African travellers, 

 tenant the plains of Kilimanjaro. These are the Grant's 

 Gazelle {Gazella granti), the Thomson's Gazelle {G. 

 thomsoni), 

 and the 

 Waller's 

 Gazelle {G. 

 IV a II erf). 

 Grant's 

 Gazelle is 

 "common 

 everywhere 

 on the open 

 plains." Its 

 fine lyre- 

 shape d 

 horns at- 

 tain alarger 

 develop- 

 ment than 

 in perhaps 

 any other 

 species of 

 the genus. 

 Their ele- 

 gant shape 

 and pro- 

 minent out- 

 lines will be 

 seen by the 

 accom- 

 panying 

 figure from 

 the Pro- 

 ceedings of 

 the Zoolo- 

 gical So- 

 c i e t y . 

 Thomson's 

 Gazelle was 

 found in 

 large num- 

 bers in the 

 plains of 

 the Masai 

 country to 

 the south- 

 west of the 

 mountain. 

 Waller's 

 Gazelle was 



" very rare near Kilimanjaro," but subsequently found to be 

 numerous up the Tana River. One was killed near Lake 

 Jipd. But the great prize among the Antelopes was met 

 with by Sir Robert Harvey and his companions Messrs. 

 Greenfield and Hunter, during a subsequent expedition to 

 Eastern Africa. In the course of this journey they ascended 

 the River Tana, which- forms the northern boundary of 

 the dominions of the British Imperial East African Com- 

 pany. Here, on the northern bank, they came across 

 specimens of an entirely new Antelope, " of a bright red 

 colour, in some respects resembling a Hartebeest, espe- 

 cially in regard to the length of its head, and of about 

 the same size, but hardly so high at the withers." This 



Fig. 2. — Head of Hunter's Antelope. 



